Hello again,



I thought the last update would be the last, but some more people have downloaded pictures and our hike last evening up the mountain behind Rehoboth was incredible. Here are some more pictures.

The Walburgs and Dan VV stayed at Rehoboth during our trip to Canyon de Chelly. Here they are completing some wiring in the church.

Our pantry. The bananas on one of the bottom shelves stayed this color the whole week. Any recipe that called for bananas need some improvising.

Our bus driver, Daryl, and the bus that took us to Canyon de Chelly.

One of the many stinkbugs that wandered everywhere. It is in the "back off" stance.

View of Rehoboth from the top of the mountain. Check out the new soccer field.

Derrin on the top of the mountain. Pyramid Rock and Church rock are in the distance.

Amy posing from the top of the mountain.

View from the back of the mountain. This group took the "alternate" route down the mountain.

I thought I would leave you with some interesting facts of what we accomplished during our trip.

Gallons of paint used - 20

Crushed Rock moved - 32 tons

Large Rock moved - 6 tons

Flat stone moved - 4 tons

River rock hauled - 4 cubic yards

Grass plants planted in concrete-like soil - 12

Edging installed - 172 feet

Felt installed under rock - 400 square feet

Trenching with the ditch witch - 600 feet

Conduit laid - 130 feet.

Gift shop items price - 300+

Chairs cleaned - 330

Glides attached to chairs - 1320

Chipped rock moved - 4 cubic yards

Brush chipped - 10 yards

Fence put up - 200 feet

Eggs eaten - 17 dozen

Juice drank - 8 gallons

Milk - 6 gallons (only for breakfast)

Bread eaten - 20 loaves

Pictures taken - 2000+ (900 just by Tim)

Water drank - too much to figure out

It's neat to see how much was done this last week. We all had a great time. We all worked hard. We're all coming home soon (after some take an extended vacation).

Wanted to leave you with two awesome sunset/cloud pictures. This place is truly beautiful.

Final day Friday

Hello,

I wanted to get in some last pictures before we pack up and head back to Michigan.

Today we tried to finish as many projects as possible. The painting crew finished all the halls and 4 rooms in the High School. The custotian had a lot of praise for how much got painted as well as the quality. Good job team.

The Paint Crew (aka Houtstra's Hotties)

The landscaping finished as much as possible on the two houses. We waited all week for some concrete footings to be poured, but it did not happen. Because of this, we could not finish the fencing. It still looks great. The other house had some great improvements with the addition of a retaining pond, crushed stone walkways, and some rearranging of rocks.

Before picture of landscaping.

After picture of landscaping. Alot got accomplished, but there is still need for tons of crushed rock and many more plants. The next volunteer group will have to finish.

Jack directing Jerry on where to drop the load of crushed rocks.

Moving the 1/2 ton flat rocks into position for a patio area.

Dan and Jeff finishing off the fence.

The finished backyard landscaping job. Still needed is a retaining wall (waiting for concrete), a fire pit, and a bench around the tree.

The conduit was laid for the cable TV and was backfilled.

Mike, Derrin, and Curt laying the conduit before backfilling.

Other teams that finished their assignments did some general cleanup. Tom and Elaine drove to Farmington NM to drop off a scissors lift that was picked up earlier in the week. The Westras and Eggerdings traveled to Albequerque to pick up our rental vans that will bring the train crew to the train station tomorrow morning. We also had crews cleaning our dorms, and fixing lunch using up most of our extra food.

Drew cleaning out window wells. He found two dead rats and other fun items!

The painting crew getting a much deserved drive back to the dorm. This trailer previously held a few tons of large landscaping stone that the boys were diligently moving into place.

Tonight we will be eating early and then taking a hike up the "hogback" mountain behind Rehoboth. We will then finish off the day with a celebration for Matt Byl's birthday (15th). Then hopefully everyone will pre-pack for our departure for tomorrow morning.



Today I will be showing a few random shots of the whole week, as well as work done today. We are starting to download all the pictures from everyones cameras, and there are just some that need to be shared.

Girls with paint issues. How could this have happened. Look below.

Larry's first (and last) day of painting.

Chicago deep dish pizza on our train layover in Chicago

Julia or Andrea using their skills to solve the cube. Both are expert solvers.

Craig's new hairstyle. It's amazing what you will do during 30 hours on a train!

Our meeting area inbetween wings on the dorms. This was used for eating, watching TV, playing video games, playing cards, and checking e-mail. Quite busy all the time.

Baby rattlesnake we saw on our hike to six-mile canyon. The baby ones are more deadly because they do not let go easily if they bite you!

Mission in Zuni Pueblo that we visited early in the week. This was first established by Spanish missionaries in the 1600's. The front of the mission is a cemetary. The cemetary is a strange mix of Catholic symobls and Zuni fetishes.

Thistle growing behind the High School.

Wildflowers.

Taking a rest on the way down to the bottom of Canyon de Chelly. There were two tunnels which were a welcome area out of the hot sun.

Dinner in the fellowship hall.

Church service at Rehoboth CRC.

Resting in the shade checking out pictures.

The sign in front of Rehoboth. Genesis 26:22 is the basis to the name. Check it out.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Keep the comments coming.

Canyon de Chelley (Thursday)

Hello again,

Thanks again for all the comments. Hopefully most of your family has shown up in one picture or the other.

Chris, the person holding the lizard is the principal's daughter. She lives next to one of the houses we are landscaping. They are packing up and moving to Indonesia this Saturday.

On to our day off. Most of us packed into a school bus at 8:30 am for a 2 hour bus ride to the canyon. We stopped off at the Hubbell trading post. These trading posts were scattered around the Navajo nation in the 1800's and 1900's and were the only means of getting supplies in a large, rugged land.

Enjoying the bus ride to the canyon!

Inside the trading post. This area was unchanged since the 1800's except for the products.

Elk head inside the trading post.

Outside view of the trading post.

We then headed directly into Canyon de Chelley. The place is absolutely gorgeous. I do not believe that the pictures will do justice to the grandeur that we saw. Half the group headed down into the canyon to see the White House ruins and the rest of the group headed up to view Spider Rock. We then met up and traveled to one more stop before dinner. We all had Navajo Tacos.

The motley crew at the canyon.

Face Rock. Notice the rock formation that looks like a statue.

Hiking around the Antelope House overlook.

Canyon de Chelley overlook.

Spider rock. 600 feet tall from the base to tip.

White house ruins.

Hiking down to the bottom of the canyon.

Going through one of two tunnels on the hike down to White House Ruins.

Navajo Tacos!

Window Rock. This is the headquarters of the Navajo Nation.

The day ended with Mike DeYoung bringing groups up to the observatory to view Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon, and some star clusters. It was then time for bed.

Today is our final day of work. I will be getting more pictures of our work. Hopefully we can finish most of what we started this week.

Keep the comments coming. I will try to get in one more update before the trains, planes, and automobiles start heading back to Michigan.